Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust’s agrees PPA with Sky UK

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust’s (ORIT) Crossdykes wind farm in Lanarkshire, Scotland, has entered into a PPA with Sky UK.

The media and telecoms corporation will purchase the majority of the electricity produced by the 46MW array under the agreement.

ORIT acquired 51% of Crossdykes in 2022, alongside Octopus Renewables Infrastructure SCSp (another fund also managed by Octopus Energy Generation) which acquired the remaining 49%.

The PPA will enable the sale of 69% of the output to Sky at a CPI-linked fixed price for a period of 10 years, commencing in April 2025.

It will increase the percentage of ORIT’s forecast revenue which is fixed over the two years to 31 December 2025 from 81% to 82%, and the percentage of forecast revenue which is index-linked over the 10 years to 31 December 2033 from 51% to 53%, the developer said.

The PPA is NAV-accretive when compared with the power price assumptions included in the NAV as at 31 December 2023.

The wind farm is expected to generate around 144 GWh of electricity every year, which is enough to power the equivalent of around 50,000 homes and avoid around 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year, equivalent to planting 250,000 trees.

ORIT chairman Phil Austin said: “We are pleased to enter this agreement with Sky, which is a UK household name and a strong partner as part of the Nasdaq-listed Comcast Corporation.

“The contract underscores the strength of our Investment Manager’s energy markets team as they implement our strategy to deliver a high proportion of fixed revenue and inflation linkage, providing added certainty to our portfolio for the long-term.

“Renewable energy supply deals with major corporations like Sky help meet vital targets to decarbonise their businesses.”